Where to perform the drill: On the practice field
What you will need: Your normal bag of discs and a target (e.g. portable basket, tree, pole, etc.)

Task:
Stand 50' away from your target and throw a dozen or so gentle overhand shots (tomahawk or thumber) that land upside down as close to your target as possible. Adjust release angles as needed to get the disc to pan how you want it to. Experiment with various heights and lines.

Move back to 75' and repeat the previous step. Repeat for distances of 100', 125', and 150' (if you have shoulder/arm problems I suggest doing this only to 75', but that range should still be a safe range to throw).

This is a very useful dump shot as well as for getting over small obstacles.

when Im playing casual rounds I often throw a gentle tommy with my driver/mid after taking a putt or two (our courses are rarely backed up) just doing this during rounds and occasionaly as a dump over some stuff, Ive gotten pretty good with them. Without wind I can take a run for chains if I want without flying by bad at all.

I started doing this when I wanted to learn tommys, and I found that landing the disc upside down makes it very easy to control landing zones (they dont come natural to me like thumbers)

I have a question and here is as good as anywhere. whats the best way to throw a disc that slides upside down to get under obstacles? I dont really ever throw these unless im in a spruce and want to slide up to the pin, and my results have been mixed, is there a way to use this when your obstacle is 30-50' away and you want to go under?

I've never had much success with thumbers/tommys - I usually throw a stall/flex shot when others throw an overhand. When you through a thumber, are you supposed to to curl your index finger around the rim or just stick it out on top of the flight plate? and should they be thrown over your head vertically (the length of your arm is normal to the ground) or at an angle?

thatdirtykid - have you tried throwing grenades nose-up and toward the ground? I sometimes throw those as controlled skip shots to get under stuff.

tdk: using a tilt and a very low line will get that shot down. it's easier if you start high (say, above your shoulder) and throw from there, snapping forwards/downwards rather than starting behind your shoulder and snapping upwards/outwards.

adding a slight tilt pointing the flight plate downwards will help with the flip if you are struggling with that.

on a thumber you can either put it on the flight plate for a controlled grip, or for more power, just make a fist.

lacrimosa wrote:I've never had much success with thumbers/tommys - I usually throw a stall/flex shot when others throw an overhand. When you through a thumber, are you supposed to to curl your index finger around the rim or just stick it out on top of the flight plate? and should they be thrown over your head vertically (the length of your arm is normal to the ground) or at an angle?

thatdirtykid - have you tried throwing grenades nose-up and toward the ground? I sometimes throw those as controlled skip shots to get under stuff.

I have, it works well but Im looking for something without the skip. Throwing the tommy (similar to a lay up) but harder and lower works, but theres often a skip.

A fun shot is if you thow a thumber at the ground so it lands upside down, it will skip really big and continue the same flight path as a thumber and knife back down after the skip.

For me when I want to slide/skip (with the second half of the tommy helix) The more slide and distance I want after I hit the ground the slower I throw, the more skip/harder my knife in the ground the harder I throw. Same principles as a 2-finger roller with a putter. The softer you throw the farther you go (assuming a quick green) the harder you throw the more controlled it gets with it's flip.

For about the first 1 1/2 years I played the game, I threw no backhands at all. For better or worse, I wanted to just master the sidearm as much as I could before moving on. Because of this, I was so uncomfortable with backhand shots that I threw nothing but tomahawk "pancakes" that slide the last 10 or 20 feet toward the pin. While I am now comfortable with backhands, I still throw these babies for anything that is simple and outside the range of a putt.

Try this with a wolf if you have one. If you throw it correctly, the thing can just glide upside down wayyy to the right. It's a pretty sweet little trick shot, but I found the disc to become really inconsistent the moment you break it in.